5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. KINGS
Calgary hosts LA in a Pacific Division battle
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's divisional battle
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Say What - 'It Always Ramps Up'
Projected Lineup
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (90)
Goals - Elias Lindholm (34)
Kings:
Points - Anze Kopitar (57)
Goals - Adrian Kempe (28)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.8% (9th) / PK - 83.7% (5th)
Kings:
PP - 16.8% (28th) / PK - 75.7% (23rd)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.66% (2nd)
High-Danger Chances: 56.61% (1st)
Kings:
Shot Attempts: 54.54% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.79% (11th)
The Flames were edged 2-1 by the Avs Tuesday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in a battle between the top two clubs in the Western Conference.
The victory also gave Colorado a 2-1 win in the regular-season series.
Tyler Toffoli was the only Flame to bulge the twine with a one-time clapper on the powerplay in the second period.
Valeri Nichushkin scored both Avalanche goals on the powerplay, as Colorado finished the night 2-for-3 with the extra man.
The Flames PK - which had been red hot this season - has now allowed five powerplay goals in their last two outings.
Heading into the tilt with Colorado, Calgary had dumped the Oilers 9-5 Saturday night and Arizona 4-2 on Friday.
Despite all the goals in those two contests, head coach Darryl Sutter told media Wednesday that the lack of goals against the Avs is part of a larger trend he's keeping his eye on.
"I think the biggest thing that gets overlooked with our team is we have a lot of guys who have not scored or scored one goal in a long time," said Sutter. "And that's a concern. That's a big concern this time of the year. It's a big, big concern. Even guys that have a significant amount of goals, they haven't scored lately or for a long time and that's a concern, so, number-one you have to check for chances but you gotta to work for and bear down for your opportunities and you gotta get there."
He was asked how you turn that around and get more consistent goal scoring from some players.
"That's character, skill, desire, work, purpose - all those things," said Sutter. "That's what that is. I mean, not everybody is gonna score, right, that's a given. But when guys go for a significant period of time that are goalscorers, number one, either they're not getting shots or are not getting to where most goals are scored. And most are scored within about one foot inside the blue to 10 feet out, right? Even the long shots - it's cause somebody is there."
Video: "You're going to be an underdog, whoever you play"
This is the second game of a massively important Alberta back-to-back for the Kings.
They fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Oilers in Edmonton Wednesday, a team they are battling for playoff position in the Pacific Division. While they grabbed a point, it was their second straight loss.
It was a back-forth-affair, Alex Edler opening the scoring in the game in the first but LA trailing 3-1 in the second before a rally with tallies by Quinton Byfield and Carl Grundstrom. There was no scoring in the third leading to OT and the one-on-one showdown to decide it.
Jonathan Quick made 30 saves for the Kings.
"I thought out guys did a good job, they were prepared for it, it's going to be that way from now until the end of the season," Kings coach Todd McLellan told NHL.com's Derek Van Diest. "But the group we have playing right now did a real good job tonight. We had to scratch and claw to come back. It's disappointing we didn't get the point when the shootout starts, but as far as the rest of the game, and finding guys to contribute, I thought we did a real good job."
Los Angeles played without injured forwards Dustin Brown (upper body), Andreas Athanasiou (upper body), Brendan Lemieux (lower body), Blake Lizotte (upper body), and defencemen Drew Doughty (upper body) and Matt Roy (lower body).
Prior to the tilt with the Oilers, the Kings split a pair at home against the expansion Kraken, beating Seattle 4-2 on Friday before falling 6-1 on Monday, Arthur Kaliyev the lone goal scorer for LA in that one. Cal Peterson took the loss between the pipes making 32 saves.
These two clubs met once earlier this season, with Calgary beating them 3-2 in Los Angeles back on Dec. 2. It was Darryl Sutter's first trip back to the Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena). He coached there from 2011-17, leading the Kings to a record od 225-147-53 and - most importantly - two Stanley Cup titles (2012 and 2014).
Andrew Mangiapane and Milan Lucic scored in the first period and Calgary led 2-1 after 20 minutes. Matthew Tkachuk and Edler exchanged second period markers and there was no scoring in the third. Jacob Markstrom made 40 saves in the victory.
Video: Condensed Game: Flames @ Kings
RA RA RASMUS ANDERSSON:The blueliner picked up another point on Tuesday, his 41st of the season. Thirty-seven of Andersson's points are assists, which, as of March 30, are tied for the 11th-most by a defenceman. Andersson has almost doubled his previous career-high for points in a season of 22 in 2019-20 while also posting a career-high plus/minus this season of +23.
BIG Z: Nikita Zadorov sits just one point shy of 100 career NHL points. Zadorov is also sitting close to a new career-high for points in a season as his 16 points this year are four shy of his career-high of 20 points set in 2017-18 with the Colorado Avalanche. Zadorov's 13 assists this season are tied for the most in a season for him, accomplished last in 2017-18.
HOLY TOFFOLI: Tyler Toffoli notched his 18th goal this season and ninth as a member of the Flames on Tuesday. Toffoli now has the same number of goals (9) in 21 games with the Flames as he did in 37 games with the Montreal Canadiens before coming to Calgary. Toffoli has 18 points in 21 games as a Flame, with four of his goals and seven of his points coming on the powerplay.
Flames - Johnny Gaudreau
Hard to take your eyes off the offensive wizard - he's simply playing on another level this season. He was held without point in the loss to the Avs, but had a carer high five helpers against the Oilers. In his previous four outings - including the Edmonton - he has three goals and 11 points. He's currently fourth in league scoring with 90 points.
Kings - Anze Kopitar
The Kings get their offence by committee this season but Kopitar continues to be the main driver, leading the club with 40 assists - 12 more than Trevor Moore, who's second. Kopitar's 57 points also tops the team, 15 clear of Adrian Kempe.
Elias Lindholm, who sits with a career-high 34 goals this season, is scoring on 18.5% of his shots. Lindholm is potting 25% of his snap shots, 16.1% of his wrist shots, and 11.1% of his slap shots. Andrew Mangiapane, who has scored eight back-hand goals this season, has only attempted 16, scoring on 50% of his back-handed shots on goal.
